The Invitational
by Pokemon Ranger D
Summary: A cooperative Pokemon story involving character donated from other writers.
1. Chapter 1

Author: Pokemon Ranger D

Notes: All the real pokemon and pokemon characters in this story are the property of Nintendo of America, Game Freak, and Creatures. All the made up pokemon and pokemon characters belong to me, unless otherwise noted in the closing credits.

_**Special Thanx!**_

Right off the bat I would like to thank all the trainers who responded to the invitation and donated characters to this story. I had some of the best Pokemon fan fic writers on the web contributing no less than the stars of their own stories to be in this cooperative effort. Without them, the following story would not have been possible (well, it would, but it would have probably sucked). The following story is a long one that is the result of the combined creativity of many different people. After the story I have listed the closing credits, giving credit where credit is due. If you like, love, or hate a certain character, or if you just want to know where these people came from, then refer to the credits. Keep in mind, however, that I dropped this project for about five years now, so most of the e-mail addresses are now defunct, but hopefully those who helped me (and to them I apologize whole-heartedly) will read this and know how much I appreciated their help. Thanx again to you all. Now, without further ado, the best writers in the pokemon universe present…

The Invitational 

**Day 1**

I was awakened at dawn by the telephone, a regular occurrence in my line of work.

"Hello?" I said, not bothering to activate the view screen.

"David, it's Ash." The leader of the Elite Four said. "Get up and get busy, the tournament starts in a few hours and you need to be prepared."

I rolled over out of bed. "Alright, alright, I'm up, I'm up." I said, turning on the view screen so Ash would believe me.

"Good. Now, most of the competitors have already arrived and signed in. Not much to talk about, mostly just rookies looking to get some exposure in the big leagues. However, there are a few that caught my attention. I'm transmitting the data we have on them now. Study it on the way over. Also, make sure you bring Mewtwo with you. This thing will last about two weeks and we can't risk it going nuts on The Ranch."

I finished tying my shoes and looked up at the screen. "Anything else, boss?" I said.

"Yeah." Ash said. "Watch your back. Team Rocket escaped last night."

Immediately I grew serious. "When?"

"About two in the morning. Get this, it was Cassidy and Butch that broke them out, along with these two kids we've never seen before. They must be trying to recruit new members."

I threw on my jacket and clicked on my shades. "Do you think Giovanni had anything to do with it?" I asked.

Ash shook his head. "I doubt it. He's still locked up in the loony ward. These guys are acting on their own."

I nodded, the thought of the rockets running without Giovanni at the helm was not a comforting one.

"Now," Ash continued, "Slate is on his way to pick you up, we can't risk parking any of your fliers on the mainland for so long. He should be there any minute, so get ready."

The screen blinked off as Ash hung up. We had been suspecting that someone might try to crash the tournament, and now with the Rockets on the move again we all had to be on our guard. I went down into the lab and activated the computer.

"Dexter, I'm going on a long mission, I'm going to need my team."

"Acknowledged. Retrieving pokemon." The pokedex voiced image of the late Professor Oak replied. The central computer instructed robot wardens all over the island to retrieve my pokemon team, the ones I trusted most in a pinch: Charizard, my starter pokemon; Articuno, the legendary ice bird; Raichu, my pokemon power plant; Blastoise and Venusaur, the best of their types; and Muddogg, the first new pokemon I ever caught; and of course, already on my belt, was the masterball containing Mewtwo, the pokemon that nearly killed me and is now my partner.

I went about, making sure everything was in order before I left. I checked on all the crossbreeds and left instructions to make sure they got their medication. I activated all The Ranch's security systems and finally shut down on my way out.

I was standing out on the helipad when the chopper settled down. I quickly jumped in. Slate Stone was of course at the helm, and to my surprise, Jennifer Oak was in the back waiting for me.

"What's the matter, sweetie, Meowth got your tongue?"

I smiled as she leaned in and kissed me. "Just didn't expect to see you, that's all."

She smiled, holding my hand as the chopper lifted off. "Well, I figured as long as we were both going to the same place I might as well ride with you."

I turned to her. "So, you're competing in the tournament too, huh?"

She made a funny face. "God, I wish! They won't let me compete now that I'm the head of the league. They say I just need to be there to watch along with the Elite Four. I'm telling you, this job has a lot of disadvantages."

I smiled at my girlfriend again. "Well, look on the bright side, at least you won't be busy scouring the tournament for illegal pokemon, or watching out for Rockets."

Jennifer's mood quickly became serious. "I heard they had broken out. Do you think they'll attack the tournament?"

I took out the portable interface and began going over the info that Ash had sent me to study. "With all the rare and powerful pokemon that are going to be there, I'd guarantee it. If they do, though, I hope these kids can handle it."

When we arrived at Indigo Plateau the place was already bustling. I decided I would go mingle with the crowd, see if I could detect anything suspicious. There were trainers and fans from everywhere who had come to see the big invitational tournament. As I mingled with the crowd I noticed that several trainers had a pokemon out of their pokeballs and either walking beside them or riding on their shoulders. Looks like Ash and Pikachu had started a trend.

"Well, when in Rome." I said, taking a pokeball off my belt. "Come on out, Muddogg." I said, opening the pokeball. My mud pokemon materialized beside me.

"Mmmmmuddogg, mud!" it said, happy to be out in all the excitement.

We walked over to an official sign in station to register. Muddogg and I were at the very end of a rather long line. These folks must have camped out all night. Then, I noticed a trainer sitting on a bench next to the station. He looked like he had slept in his clothes and his hair was wild and uncombed. He was holding up something, a pendant of some kind, and was staring into it almost hypnotically. He had pokeballs on his belt, so I figured he was there for the tournament. The line quickly grew shorter. Finally, there were only two people ahead of me. Suddenly, the background music stopped and was replaced by an announcement.

"ATTENTION PLEASE, ATTENTION PLEASE! WOULD DAN SERGEIN PLEASE REPORT TO THE NEAREST COURTESY PHONE. DAN SERGEIN, PLEASE REPORT TO THE NEARES COURTESY PHONE. THANK YOU."

The boy right in front of me slapped himself on the forehead.

"(sigh) What does that girl want now?" he said to himself. "C'mon, Venusaur, maybe there's a station by the phones." The boy, apparently Dan Sergein, walked away from the line, his massive Venusaur following beside him. I quickly registered and made my way to the coliseum for the pre-tournament festivities.

"Hello, Jennifer." Dan said tiredly into the phone.

"How did you know it was me?" his Jr. Trainer girlfriend asked.

"Because," he said with a grin on his face, "you called every hour while I was on the train out here. It was time for the next one."

"Sorry," Jennifer said, "I just wanted to make sure you got to Indigo Plateau all right. How are you?"

Dan's grin broadened into a smile, his annoyance quickly melting away. "I'm fine, Jen. Don't worry so much. I'm in the lobby now, I just need to register, which I was about to do until SOMEBODY called for me."

Jennifer giggled at the other end of the line. "Sorry. How's my pokemon?"

Dan patted one of the pokeballs on his belt. "Don't worry, Majesticorn is right here on my belt. It's fine."

On the other end of the line Dan could hear a young voice call out something.

"Allen wants to know how Stingun is." Jennifer said.

"Tell your brother Stingun misses him and can't wait to get in the ring to show how good it is." Dan said smiling.

Jennifer relayed the message. "I still can't believe he let you borrow his first pokemon for the tournament."

"Oh right," Dan said, feigning exasperation, "like you gave up Majesticorn without a fight. I practically had to sign a release form before you'd loan me that one."

"Just be careful out there." Jennifer said. "I wish we could be there with you."

Dan's smile faded slightly as he patted his Venusaur on the head. "I wish you could, too. Don't worry, I'll be home as soon as I win this thing!"

Jennifer laughed on the other end of the line. "Good luck, honey." She said, making kissing noises over the phone.

"Not that I'll need it." Dan said smugly. "But thanks for the kisses. Bye Jen." He said, hanging up the phone. "Well, come on Venusaur. Let's find a sign in station."

"Saur." The plant pokemon said in it's deep voice as it waddled after it's trainer.

"Aliessa, will you wait up!" Jordan called to his friend as she ran through the lobby, her Vaporeon running along beside her.

"I can't wait up, Jordan, we need to register before the stations close!"

Jordan shook his head. "That isn't for hours, what's the hurry?"

Aliessa stopped and indicated the lines at the stations.

"Oh." Jordan said.

Aliessa grabbed his arm and dragged him over to what looked like the shortest line. "Now, we're gonna stay right here and register. There's nothing, and I mean nothing that's gonna make us loose our place."

"Right." Jordan agreed.

"Yoooooo hoooooo, Jordan!" a girl's voice called from across the lobby.

Jordan squinched up his eyes, like he was in pain. "Is it?" he asked Aliessa, afraid to turn around.

"It is." Aliessa said.

Jordan rubbed his forehead. "When does the pain end?"

A young girl in a green dress with long blonde pigtails ran up behind Jordan and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Hey, Jordan." She said happily. Then she cut her eyes at Aliessa. "Hello, tramp."

Aliessa smiled. "Yeah, it's nice to see you too, Meme. So, you traveling alone or what?"

Meme held Jordan even tighter at the word 'alone.' "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm here with Tasha and Electra." She said, fiddling with Jordan's hair as he tried without success to put it back into place. "By the way, Aliessa, when I win this tournament Jordan will finally see what a loser you are and come back to Celadon City with me, won't you schnookums?"

Jordan managed to get free from Meme's clutches. "Excuse me, but…uh…I've gotta go make a phone call." He turned quickly and walked away.

"Oh, Jordan wait, I'll come with you!" Meme called as she pranced after him.

Aliessa stood there, shaking her head. "That girl's pigtails are too tight." She said.

"Vap, vaporrrrr." Her pokemon agreed.

A young boy came up behind Aliessa. Hey, 'Liessa." He said to her

Aliessa smiled at her friend. "Hey, Red, glad you could make it." The two friends hugged.

"Yeah, I would have been here sooner, but I had to get away from my folks and their 'fire beats everything' speech." He said. "Wasn't that Meme I saw here just a minute ago?"

Aliessa nodded. "Yup, Tasha and Electra are here too." She said.

"Well," Red said. "This should be an interesting tournament."

"Sure are a lot of people here, huh Angel?" Fox Lee said to her Ninetails as they waited patiently in line. Fox looked around at the growing crowd of trainers and spectators. "I hope everyone gets here alright." She said to herself, rubbing Angel's ears. As the two waited in line to register, Angel's fur stood on end at it started to growl. "What is it, Angel? Is something…oh." Fox turned around to see a boy, about nineteen, walking over to the line. She clenched her fist and gritted her teeth, not looking forward to this encounter.

"Hello, Fox." the boy said as he came up behind the girl, her Ninetails softly growling the whole time. "So, how have you been, sis?" the boy asked Fox.

Fox crossed her arms angrily. "Since when, Vance? Since you had me arrested or since you tried to have me killed?" she snapped sarcastically at her older brother.

"Either or." Vance said casually. The older boy pushed his way to the head of the line and quickly registered. "You had better watch yourself, Fox. At a big like this it's very common for trainers to get hurt in a fierce battle. After all, accidents do happen, don't they?" Vance turned and walked away.

Angel calmed down and looked up at Fox. "Looks like trouble, huh Fox?" it said.

"It sure does, Angel. Big trouble."

"Hey, where can a guy find a Subway around here! I'm starving!" the young Asian boy asked one of the other trainers.

The trainer, a young man dressed in a long dark blue coat, looked at the hungry trainer like he was crazy. "There's a food court in the upper levels of the visitor's center. Try looking there." The trainer in the coat turned and quickly walked away.

The hungry trainer chased after the long coat. "Where are you off to in such a hurry, man?"

The coated trainer stopped. "I'm on my way to register for the tournament."

The hungry trainer smiled. "Hey, I'm in the tournament too!" he said. "The name's Bill, Bill Nguyen." Bill said, extending his hand.

"Robby Maximillion." The coated trainer said, shaking Bill's hand hard.

Bill's eyes widened. "Not Robby 'The Wrecker' Maximillion?" he asked.

Robby grew a smug smile on his face. "The same."

Bill smiled back just as smugly. "Yeah, I've heard of you. Gym leader of Bio City, right? Never been there before."

Robby nodded as he moved away from Bill and into a line to register.

"Well," Bill said, "I'll see you on the battle floor. Hope you won't take my beating you personally." Bill quickly ran off to find his Subway.

Robby's eyes followed him until he was out of sight. He took one of the many pokeballs out of his coat and rolled it around in his hand. "We'll see about that, won't we Razorbax?"

The food court was packed with people, the loud hum of many happy conversations filled the air. At one table a group of girls were sitting together and discussing the tournament.

"So, Diane, what class are you at Pokemon Tech?" Topo Starlight, a young trainer with soft hazel eyes behind small oval glasses asked the pink haired girl in the Pokemon Tech varsity jacket.

"Oh, Topo, I've already graduated." Diane McClain answered. "I had planned on entering the Pokemon League right away, but then this tournament came up. I figured this would be fun and give me the chance to get in some good practice before I take on the Four."

A blonde girl dressed all in black spoke up. "Will you still take on the Four after you get beaten, Tech girl?"

"Oh, Jackal, leave her alone." Heather said.

Diane smiled and crossed her arms. "I choose to think positive, Jackal. Negative thinking rots your brain."

The blonde girl, Jackal Andromeda by name, smirked and shook her head. "Whatever. See you losers in the arena." She said as she got up and walked away.

Diane leaned in closer to the center of the table. "Now there's a Rocket wannabe if I've ever seen one." She said to the group

Heather rolled up the sleeves of her baggy sweater. "No wonder I don't like her."

"I don't know, guys. Do you really think I should be here?" Rich Greenhorn asked his friends.

"Sure you, should, Rich." Evan Evolveon said to his young friend.

"Besides," Anthony Spinella spoke up. "This may be the only chance we'll have to be in the Pokemon League together before you go off to finish your journey."

Rich smiled at his friends. "You're right, Ant."

Mike Heinz came over to the table with a tray full of food. "Don't worry, Rich, you'll do fine. You have the courage and determination of a trainer twice your level. You're liable to outlast some of us." He said, indicating the group.

Suddenly, Anthony slapped Mike on the shoulder. "Mike, trouble at four o'clock." He whispered to his friend.

Mike glanced in the indicated direction and saw the problem. "Great, Joe's here too."

Joe Sordid swaggered over to the table. "Well, well, well. Look who actually had the stupidity to even show up." Joe said, indicating the four friends. "It is going to be a true honor for me to send each and every one of you losers packing. Especially you, Mike." He said, cutting his eyes sharply at his rival. "See you losers later." He said as he walked away.

Evan leaned in to the group. "I don't really care which of us wins this thing, as long as SOMEBODY beats that jerk."

It was early evening and most of the trainers had registered by now and gathered in the coliseum for the opening ceremonies. I had been on the look out for suspicious looking people all day, and except for a few eccentric trainers every one looked clean. If the Rockets did decide to attack they might wait until later in the tournament. I flipped open the interface one more time and scanned the roster, which had grown significantly as more trainers registered. I knew some of the people from my own journey, even a couple of gym leaders showed up.

I quickly put the interface away as a horn sounded, calling everybody to attention. On the large stage in the middle of the coliseum the Elite Four along with Jennifer Oak and some high ranking Pokemon League officials were taking their seats. Jennifer walked up to the podium and began her welcoming speech.

"Greetings trainers. From master to amateur, trainers from every skill level have gathered here to compete in this invitational tournament. I would officially like to welcome you all to Indigo Plateau. Before we begin the welcoming ceremonies, I ask that we all observe a moment of silence for a great man that the pokemon community lost just one month ago. I would like to dedicate this tournament to my great grandfather, the late Professor Samuel Oak." Every trainer in attendance bowed their heads and gave respect to Professor Oak, his loss still greatly felt in the pokemon world. "Now," Jennifer said, trying to get some cheer back into her voice, "let's get started. Here to explain the rules of the tournament is the leader of the Elite Four, the one and only Ash Ketchum!"

The massive room exploded with the applause of the thousands of fans gathered in the coliseum as the legend himself made his way to the podium. "Thank you, Madam Administrator." He said to Jennifer as she took her seat. "When I look out over this sea of young trainers, I see myself. I see the excitement and energy of youth sitting alongside the power and experience of age. As I stand before you today it is perfectly clear to me that this tournament will be one of the best in the history of the Pokemon League!" The cheers went up like flames, lighting the arena with our excitement. When we had calmed down again Ash continued. "The first round of the tournament will begin tomorrow morning. For those of you who have never attended an invitational tournament before, this is how it works. All the battles will be fought in neutral arenas, giving no specific element or type an advantage. All match ups will be randomly chosen from the names of the remaining participants after each round. This is a single elimination tournament, and will continue until only two trainers are left. These two will compete for the grand prize: one million dollars!"

Again the crowd cheered for the prize, and what a prize it was. Ash held up his hands, calling for silence. "This will be a fair tournament. Any attempts to cheat, commit fraud, or any other dishonest or illegal actions taken to win or otherwise interfere with the outcome of this tournament will be dealt with severely. I trust everyone understands." We all nodded silently. Ash's jovial mood quickly returned to him. "Very well, then. Tonight there is going to be a big mixer party for everyone to get to know one another, but don't stay up too late. The first round starts bright and early tomorrow. Now, if you'll all check your registration ticket you'll see that rooms have been provided for all participants in the visitor's center. Go unpack, get settled, then get back to the celebration. Good luck to you all tomorrow, and welcome to the Pokemon League!"

The crowd erupted into one last thunderous cheer before slowly filtering out to get to their rooms. As Muddogg and I walked towards our room the interface beeped. I opened it to read a message from Ash. 'Come to the boardroom as soon as possible. We have things to discuss.' I sighed and put the interface away. "So much for the party, huh Muddogg?"

"Mmmuuuuud." My pokemon whined sadly.

I dumped my bags on the bed in my room then went straight to the boardroom. Jennifer and the Elite Four were already there waiting for me. "What's up?" I asked, taking my seat.

Gary handed me a computer chip. "This contains a complete record of all our participants. League records, criminal records, psych profiles, and family histories. We need you to look them over tonight, get an idea of who you need to pay special attention to tomorrow."

Misty spoke up. "The highlighted names are the people we feel need the most watching out for. Incidents in their pasts have gotten them into some…trouble. We think these are the most likely people to be carrying illegal pokemon."

"Or working for Team Rocket." Slate growled from his chair.

I put the chip into the port on the interface and began looking them over. "Let's see here…Joe Sordid…Jackal Andromeda…Vance and Fox Lee…Robby Maximillion!" I couldn't believe his name was on the list. "This can't be right, I know Robby, and he's not a criminal."

Ash stood up. "I know Robby too. I met him a long time before you did. We went through some heavy stuff together. He's a good guy, but he can get very competitive. I just think we should keep an eye on him."

I nodded. "Alright, anything else?"

"Yes." Gary said. "We need you to throw some matches."

I jumped out of my seat. "You want me to what!" I almost yelled, unable to believe what I had just heard.

"Not the whole thing." Misty said. "Just hold back a little. We can't risk anyone even accidentally discovering what you really are. Besides, you're here to watch out for crooks, not win the tournament."

I thought about it and realized they were right. "OK, I'll be careful."

Ash stood and shook my hand. "Good luck, Ranger."

I half smiled. "Thanks." I said as I walked out the door and up to my room for a long night of studying.

"Oh yeah! Party over here!" Leo Katsumara said as he entered the main lobby where the mixer was in full swing.

"Leo, over here!"

Leo looked to the sound of the voice to see his friend, Rachel L. coming towards him. "Hey, Rachel. How have you been?"

"Not bad." Rachel said. "Have you seen Fox anywhere? It's been a while since we've all seen each other."

Leo shook his head. "No, but I think I saw Vance earlier today."

Rachel shuddered. "I really don't like that guy."

About then, a tall snooty looking boy walked into the party.

"Who do you suppose that is?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know. Let's go ask." Leo said as he and Rachel headed for the stranger. "Hey, how are you doin'?" Leo asked the boy. "You here for the tournament?"

The boy looked at the two of them, but did not answer.

"Well, we're here for the tournament." Rachel said, trying to be friendly. "I'm-"

Suddenly the strange young man cut her off with his quiet, yet sharp voice. "Rachel L. from Pallet Town. Yes, I know. And you're Leo Katsumara from Arkon City. The one with the 29 pokemon."

Rachel and Leo looked at each other in amazement. "How did you know that?" Leo asked.

The boy stood up. "My name is James Kelley. I am from Saffron City. I am a powerful psychic. And yes, I am here for the tournament. Good luck tomorrow, amateurs. You will need it if you get drawn against me." James said as he stood and walked out of the party as quickly as he had come in.

"Weird." Leo said.

"Crazy's more like it." Rachel said, annoyed.

The scented smoke slowly rose from the small incense holder on the desk in the room of Kyosan Lee. His Venusaur sat in a corner of the room, absorbing the last rays of the setting sun through the window. His Arcanine was curled up on the floor at the foot of his bed, and his Persian was also asleep on the bed. His Haunter was floating in the air over the bed, resting. His Dragonite, too large to fit in the room comfortably, was still inside it's pokeball on the desk. Kyosan stood in the middle of the room in a dark blue karate gi, his light purple hair tied back and his teal eyes focused as he performed a slow and powerful kata. His Golduck stood next to him, performing the same moves. A knock at the door stirred him from his meditations. He opened the door to find Fox standing there.

"Hello, Fox." he said to his friend. "How have you been? Why aren't you at the party?"

Fox quickly stepped into the room. "Kyosan, there's trouble." She said to her friend.

"Oh? What is if?"

Fox sat on the bed and gently stroked the sleeping Persian. "Vance is here too." She said.

Kyosan immediately understood. "I see. Do you think he might be involved with the Team Rocket breakout everyone's talking about?"

Fox shook her head. "No. Vance is too much of a lone wolf for that. I think he's after me and Angel."

Kyosan nodded. "Well, don't you worry, Fox. I'm here for you, and Leo and Rachel are here too."

Fox stood up and headed for the door. "Thanks, Kyosan, but when it comes to Vance, I'm afraid that might not be enough."

"Hey, Aliessa. Long time no see."

Aliessa and Jordan walked across the floor to the table where the three girls were sitting. "Hello Tasha, Electra. Hello again, Meme."

The girl with the blonde pigtails quickly stuck her tongue out at Aliessa.

"Meme told us she saw you earlier, Aliessa." Tasha said. "How have you been? Haven't been getting beaten too badly I hope." Tasha laughed at her rival.

Aliessa just grinned and bore it. "No worse than you have I suppose, Tasha."

"Vap vap, vapoooor."

"Vul-pix. Pix, vul vul pix."

Aliessa's Vaporeon and Tasha's Vulpix talked to each other, resuming their old friendship.

"So," Electra spoke up, "caught any new pokemon lately?"

"Not really." Aliessa said. "I've been busy training the ones I've got first, especially since I heard about this tournament. What about you, Electra? Are you still just the 1-2-3 kid?"

Electra gritted her teeth. "I may only have three pokemon, but I can guarantee they're more than a match for yours."

Aliessa grinned, happy to have gotten a rise out of the electric trainer. "We'll see, won't we?"

"This can't be." Lauren said to her two winged Ninetails. "This can't be the plateau that leads to Vultopia." The three were standing outside of the Pokemon League.

Lunaninetails folded her lavender feathered wings. "Perhaps we misread the tablet. Maybe it said 'mountain?'"

The other winged Ninetails flapped his bat-like wings agitatedly. "I read it right, Luna. I've been after Vultopia a lot longer than you have. I know what I'm doing. This is supposed to be Vultopia.

Luna growled tiredly at her companion. "Well, it isn't, is it Tramontane! We came all this way for nothing!" Lauren tried to calm the two down.

"H-h-hello." A boy's voice said behind them. The three friends whirled around, the two winged Ninetails growling. They were face to face with a young man with messy hair and clothes that looked like they had been slept in. Around his neck was a pendant, a pewter dragon's claw holding a bead of glass. "M-my name's Marcus. Are y-you here for the tournament?" he asked softly, an odd inflection twanging his voice.

"What tournament?" Lauren asked Marcus.

"T-the Pokemon League Invita-tational. It starts tomorrow. A pair of magnificent Ninetails like those could sure turn some heads." He then cut his eyes at Lauren. "Especially talking Ninetails."

Luna looked up at Lauren. "Perhaps we should enter. It would give us the chance to look around inside, maybe find out what happened to Vultopia."

"Yeah." Tramontane said. "Let's do it."

Lauren smiled down at her two friends. "Alright, let's join the Invitational."

"Waiter! Get me a chocolate sundae, with sprinkles, and a cherry on top, now!" Leah said to the man at the ice cream counter.

"Jeez, what a brat." He mumbled under his breath as he quickly gave the eight-year-old girl her order.

She carried it over to a table where a young woman in a light blue Eevee shirt was sitting and enjoying the music coming from the jukebox in the corner.

"Can you believe that worthless waiter called me a brat!" the girl said with no introduction as she sat down uninvited and began digging into her ice cream. "How rude!"

The girl in the Eevee shirt, Crystal by name, said "Well, you were kind of rude to him yourself. You could have asked a little more nicely."

The little brat rolled her eyes. "Please, he's a servant! Back home I treated the servants just like that, and they never called me a brat."

Crystal looked at her funny. "You have servants at home? Where are you from?"

The little girl greedily licked the ice cream off her spoon. "Vermillion City. My daddy founded the Pokemon Fan Club there. Only the richest trainers can become members. I'm their one and only daughter, Leah." She said, giving Crystal the big cute eyes.

Crystal nodded. "I see. Are you here with your parents, then?"

Leah's big cute eyes cut down to burning knives. She slammed her spoon into the glass with a loud clink. "No." she said, crossing her arms in a pout. "My parents kicked me out when I called my daddy's Drowzee 'dicknose.' Said I needed to learn to respect all pokemon. I'll show them, though! Once I win this tournament and get rich all on my own, they'll be sorry they were so mean to me!"

Crystal's jaw dropped. "You're competing in the tournament? How? You're not even old enough to have a license?"

Leah coughed and rolled her eyes. "Duh! Didn't I just tell you who my daddy is?"

"Oh. Well, I need to go." Crystal said, getting up to leave. "It was nice meeting you, Leah."

Leah finished off her sundae and looked back at the waiter behind the ice cream counter. "Look at him. He even looks like that old dicknose. WAITER…!"

"Hey, Matt! Look who I found!" Katie Gottall called to her friend Matt Ketchum from across the crowded room. She came running up to his table, dragging a girl behind her. She was tall with chin length black hair under an old red Pokemon League cap turned backwards.

"Selena!" Matt got up and ran over to his sister. They hugged each other tightly, it had been almost two years since they had seen each other. "Oh man, it's so great to see you again!" Matt said.

"You too, bro." Selena said. "How's your journey going?"

Matt smiled smugly. "Not too bad. Had a few run ins with some Rocket wannabes, but nothing serious."

Katie gasped. "Yeah, right. Those wannabes would have stomped you into the ground in Viridian City if I hadn't shown up!" Katie said, ready to bash Matt in the head.

Matt laughed. "Anyway, so far it's gone off without a hitch. I'm probably the best trainer in my class from Pallet Town."

"Try second best." A voice said behind him. The three turned to see Mike Oak.

"Hey, Mike!" Matt said, smiling widely. "It's been a while. How's your journey coming along?"

Mike crossed his arms angrily. "Don't even start with me, Ketchum." Mike said. "I'm here for one reason and one reason only: to win this tournament. Maybe then when people think of pokemon they'll think of the name Oak for a change, not Ketchum. See you later, losers!" Mike turned and stormed off.

"Wow, Mike's changed." Selena said.

"Yeah." Matt sighed. "Ever since we both started training he's been obsessed with the idea that he has to avenge his father's defeat in the Pokemon League all those years ago."

Selena sighed. "I don't get it. His dad's in the Elite Four. Shoot, Gary and dad are the best of friends. Why can't Mike just be happy for him?"

"(YAAAAAAWWWWWWNNNN!) That's it, Muddogg. I can't study this stuff anymore. I'm going to bed."

"Muddogg." My pokemon yawned in agreement, curling up on the floor next to my bed.

I took off my glasses and laid them on top of the nightstand next to the interface. The sounds of the party downstairs echoed softly even up to my room. "You all better get some sleep." I said out loud to the darkness. "Tomorrow's gonna be a big day." I clicked out the light and went right to sleep, and dreamed about pokemon battles.

Outside the Pokemon League a night watchman sat bored at the registration station. He looked up to the sound of soft footsteps coming towards him. A woman in her mid to late twenties came up to the station.

"I'd like to register for the tournament." She said, brushing her blonde hair out of her eyes and adjusting the blue Pikachu cap she wore.

"Waiting till the last minute, huh?" the guard said. "Name?"

"Ashley." The girl said. "Ashley Ketchum."

At the name the guard looked up. "Ketchum, ay? You any relation to Ash Ketchum?"

The girl smiled. "Sure am. I'm his sister."


	2. Chapter 2

**Day 2**

"WELCOME, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, TO THE SIXTH ANNUAL POKEMON LEAGUE INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT! WE'VE GOT SOME GREAT FIRST ROUND ACTION LINED UP FOR YOU TODAY! SO, GRAB THE SNACKS, TAKE YOUR SEATS, AND LET'S GET READY TO BATTLE!"

The coliseum was already packed with people. They were all cheering and talking so loud that the announcer could hardly be heard. I was sitting in the tenth row center, right on the middle of the arena. A perfect place to see the battles, not to mention scan the pokemon used to find any illegals. I had the feeling I had the Elite Four to thank for the great seats. A loud gong rang and the entire arena slowly grew silent. The national anthem was sung beautifully by Misty Ketchum herself. Then Jennifer said a few words. Finally, Ash stood up and made his way to the center of the arena, a large hat in hand.

"As always, the match ups in this tournament will be made by luck of the draw. Names were drawn two at a time from this very hat and the matches were made. Mr. Announcer, would you please introduce the first two competitors!" The crowd let out a short, but very loud cheer as the tournament was now officially underway.

"I'D BE GLAD TO, ASH. THE FIRST TWO COMPETITORS ARE…YVONNE DANIELS OF JUMBALIA TOWN AND KYOSAN LEE OF VIRIDIAN CITY! YVONNE AND KYOSAN, COME ON DOWN TO THE FIGHTING ARENA!" The crowd of trainers and spectators cheered and jeered as the first two trainers made their way to their own ends of the arena. "FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW THE RULES OF THE INVITATIONAL, A COIN TOSS WILL BE HELD TO SEE WHO THROWS THE FIRST POKEBALL. YOU WILL FIGHT UNTIL ALL YOUR POKEMON ARE ELIMINATED. IF A POKEMON IS CALLED BACK IT IS CONSIDERED ELIMINATED AND CAN'T BE USED AGAIN UNTIL THE NEXT MATCH. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE. BEGIN!"

"Yay, woo hoo! Go get'er, Kyosan!" Fox, Rachel, and Leo all cheered their friend from the stands. Kyosan won the coin toss, so Yvonne had to choose her pokemon first.

"Doduo, I call you!" the Cajun girl said as she threw her pokeball, releasing the two-headed bird.

Kyosan brushed the hair out of his eyes as he chose his first pokemon. "Persian, attack!" he said, releasing his cat pokemon.

"Doduo, drill peck!"

"Persian, dodge it and use Fury Swipes!"

The two-headed bird ran at Persian, ready to peck it. Persian jumped gracefully out of the way and laid into the bird with its claws. Doduo fainted quickly.

"Doduo, return!" Yvonne recalled her pokemon.

"Good job, Persian." Kyosan said to his pokemon as they waited for their next opponent.

"Electrode, I call you!" Yvonne said, releasing the blaster ball pokemon.

"Alright, Persian, one more time, Fury Swipes!" Persian lay down on the ground. "Perrrrrsian." It purred contentedly. "Persian, get up!"

Yvonne laughed. "Not trained too good, is 'e, m'sieur? Electrode, tackle it!" The red and white ball blaster ball began rolling quickly at Persian.

"Peerrrrr…" it said happily as it saw the big ball rolling towards it.

"Persian, look out!" Kyosan said. His cat pokemon jumped at the ball and began batting it around like a toy, confusing it.

"Electrode, thundershock!" Yvonne called, but her pokemon was too confused from being knocked about. It started to glow.

"Persian, return!" Kyosan quickly called back his pokemon right before the electric pokemon self destructed, fainting itself.

Yvonne called back her fainted pokemon and chose her next one. "Go, Victreebel!" she said, releasing the vicious plant pokemon.

Kyosan easily made his next choice. "Arcanine, go!" he said, releasing his fire wolf.

"Oh no! Quick Victreebel, wrap it up!" The plant pokemon extended its vines to bind Arcanine. It even held the fire pokemon's mouth shut.

"Get out of it, Arcanine, you can do it!" The fire pokemon pulled against its bindings, it's muscles rippling under its orange fur, but it couldn't get free.

"Finish it, Victreebel, use Solarbeam!" Victreebel began to glow as it absorbed the bright morning light pouring through the massive skylights.

"Arcanine, quick, Take Down!" Suddenly, the great fire wolf lunged forward at Victreebel.

"Bel?" it said, just before Arcanine laid into it and sent it flying back. It's vines came undone and Arcanine was free.

"Now, finish it with flamethrower!"

"Arrrr!" the fire pokemon roared as it released its powerful fire attack, fainting the plant pokemon.

"Return, Victreebel." Yvonne said.

"Great job, Arcanine." Kyosan said, happily petting his first pokemon.

"Well, ami, let's see how you handle dis one, Charmeleon, burn him!" Her fire lizard was released from its pokeball.

"Arcanine, tackle it!" Kyosan said, his pokemon jumping instantly into battle. The fire wolf ran at the little lizard.

Just before Arcanine reached it's target Yvonne yelled out "Slash it!" Charmeleon swung around and laid Arcanine out with one swipe of its sharp, powerful claws. Arcanine staggered, confused by the blow. "Now, rage attack!" Yvonne called happily. Charmeleon's tail flame grew brighter as it's strength increased. It leapt at Arcanine, slashing and flaming it.

"Arcanine, return!" Kyosan called back his beaten pokemon. Charmeleon stood there, the rage still upon him, ready for his next opponent. "Golduck, attack!" Kyosan released his water pokemon.

Charmeleon rushed its new enemy. "Charmeleon, no!" Yvonne said, but it wouldn't listen, the rage had taken it over.

"Golduck, hydro pump!" Kyosan ordered the water attack. A powerful blast of water erupted out of the duck's beak, soaking the fire pokemon. It stood there, steam rising off it's skin. Then, just for good measure, Golduck ran at the fire lizard and knocked it down with a hard tail whip.

"Charmeleon, return!" Yvonne said. She was down to two pokemon. "Abra, get him!" she said, releasing her psychic pokemon.

"Aaaabraaaaa…" the little pokemon said, apparently asleep.

"Alright, Golduck, use the fury swipes." Golduck lunged at its opponent.

"Abra, teleport!" Yvonne said, calling the only move Abra knew. The psychic pokemon vanished into thin air.

Golduck stopped dead in its tracks. He stood for a moment with his eyes closed, meditating. Suddenly, Golduck swung around with its claws. Abra materialized behind Golduck just in time to get a hard slash across the face, fainting it.

"Oh, Abra, return." Yvonne recalled her Abra and threw out her last pokemon.

"Geo-geodude!" the rock pokemon said as it emerged from its pokeball.

"Geodude, rock throw!" Yvonne ordered. Geodude began throwing rocks at Golduck. It managed to dodge most of them, but one big one conked it in the head, confusing it. Yvonne leapt for joy. "Now, Geodude, use de seismic toss!" Geodude rushed forward and grabbed the confused duck and hurled it high into the air.

"Golduck, return!" Kyosan called back his pokemon.

"Tres magnifique, Geodude!" Yvonne said to her pokemon.

Kyosan chose his next pokemon. "Venusaur, attack!" Kyosan said, releasing his plant pokemon.

"Venusaur!" Yvonne said as she saw the large plant pokemon emerge.

"Saurrrr." It growled at Geodude.

"Venusaur, vine whip!" Kyosan ordered.

"Geodude, try to dodge and use earthquake." Geodude tried to dodge Venusaur's vines, but they were too quick. The rock pokemon quickly fainted from the blows.

"Merde." Yvonne said as she recalled her pokemon.

"AND KYOSAN LEE IS THE WINNER!" the announcer blasted over the cheering crowd.

"All right! Way to go, Kyosan!" Leo tried to yell to his friend over the crowd.

I nodded to myself. It had been a spectacular battle, Kyosan was a wonderful trainer. And the best part was that all their pokemon were legal, so far anyway. Which meant I didn't have to miss the next match.

"NOW, FOR OUR NEXT BATTLE WE HAVE DARYLL AIKEN OF VANILLAVILLE VERSUS EVAN EVOLVEON OF CENTEREACH TOWN!"

"Hey, Evan, that's you!" Mike Heinz said. "Get down there, dude, and show them what trainers from Centereach Town can do!"

"Good luck, Evan!" Rich yelled to his friend as he made his way down the aisle and headed for the floor.

Evan won the coin toss, so Daryl chose his first pokemon.

"Golbat, it's show time!" Daryl said, releasing the large mouthed bat.

Evan chose his pokemon. "Go, Jolteon!" he said.

"Golbat, supersonic!" The bat released its supersonic attack, confusing Jolteon right away.

"Hang in there, Jolteon, use thunder shock!" Jolteon shook it's head clear just in time for Golbat to slap it to the ground with its wing attack.

"Jooooolllt!" the electric cat said angrily, blasting Golbat with its electric attack, fainting it.

"Golbat, return! Go, Sandshrew!" The little mouse pokemon emerged from its pokeball.

"Jolteon, pin missile!" Evan ordered. Jolteon fired its spines, but they had little effect.

"Sandshrew, slash it!" The little ground type rushed at Jolteon, slashing it and knocking it around.

"Jolteon, double kick!" The electric pokemon used the last of its strength to haul off and kick Sandshrew square on the chin with both hind legs, then it collapsed from the beating.

Sandshrew rolled away into a ball then bounced back to its feet.

"Jolteon, return! Vaporeon, attack!" The electric cat was swapped for the water cat.

"Uh-oh. Sandshrew, dig!" The little ground type burrowed through the stone floor of the arena.

"Vaporeon, aim your hydro pump directly at that hole!"

"Vapooooooorrrrrr!" the water pokemon called as it launched its attack, flooding the tunnels with water.

"Zhrew, zhrew!" Sandshrew yelled in pain as it exploded up from under the floor, a geyser of water propelling it into the air.

"Now, tackle it, Vaporeon!" Vaporeon slammed into the rock hard pokemon, knocking it senseless.

"Return, Sandshrew! Go, Clefairy!" The timid little fairy pokemon emerged from its pokeball.

"Vaporeon, put it down quick, Ice Beam!" Vaporeon fired its freezing beam. Clefairy was frozen solid.

"Clefairy, return! Go, Venonat!" The little purple haired bug pokemon emerged from the pokeball. "Psybeam, Venonat!" Venonat launched its psychic attack. It was weak, but enough to confuse the water pokemon. "Now, tackle it!" The purple fuzzball flew at Vaporeon over and over, knocking the water pokemon about and confusing it even more.

"Vaporeon, return! Go, Flareon!" Evan's fire cat emerged from the pokeball. "Quick attack!" The fire pokemon leapt into the air and tackled Venonat to the ground. "Now, use fire spin!" Flareon encircled the fallen bug with a ring of fire. It couldn't escape.

"Venonat, return! Let's go Venomoth! Psybeam attack!" The evolved form of Venonat fried Flareon's mind with its psybeam attack. "Now, sleep powder!" The massive moth fluttered over the confused Flareon, showering it with dust from its wings. It fell asleep instantly.

"Flareon, return! All right, bug boy, let's see how you handle this! Go, Stingeon!" The pokeball opened, releasing the strangest looking bug pokemon anyone had ever seen.

"What the heck is that?" I said, leaning forward in my seat. "Dexter, analyze." I pointed the interface at the bug pokemon, sure it would be illegal.

"**Stingeon. An insect pokemon. Accidentally created in the Oak lab, this bug evolution of Eevee has the looks and attacks of several bug type pokemon."**

There was no warning on the screen, so this pokemon was perfectly legal. I sat back, ready to enjoy watching this new pokemon in action. Its body had fuzzy purple fur like a Venonat, the wings and eyes of a Butterfree, a Beedrill stinger on its tail, a Weedle stinger on its head, and the horn-like antennae of a Venomoth.

"Alright, Stingeon, tackle it!" The bug Eevee flapped its wings and rose into the air. It flew right at Venomoth, but it was able to dodge the attack.

"Venomoth, sleep powder!" Venomoth flew up high and showered Stingeon with the blue dust, but it had no effect!

"OK, Stingeon, let's finish this! Venom Beam!" Stingeon hovered in the air, pointing its tail and head stingers at Venomoth. Suddenly, its eyes began to glow red as a beam shot out of both stingers, hitting Venomoth dead center. It fell to the ground, badly poisoned.

"Venomoth, return!"

Stingeon fluttered to the ground. Apparently the venom beam took a lot out of it. "Stingeon, return!" Evan said, proud of his pokemon.

Daryl chose his final pokemon. "Squirtle, attack!" The pokeball opened, releasing the tiny turtle.

"This is perfect. Go, Jungleon!"

I prepared the interface once again, eager to learn about this 'Jungleon.'

The ball opened, releasing the new pokemon. It looked like another Eevee evolution. It had short, light green fur that looked like moss growing on its body. It had a mane of thick green foliage around its shoulders. Its tail was long and vine-like, with a rather sharp looking leaf on the tip. I scanned it with the interface.

"**Jungleon. A grass pokemon. Created in the same accident that created Stingeon, this grass type Eevee evolution has a wide variety of powerful grass type attacks."**

This one was legal as well, so I had nothing to worry about. Daryl, on the other hand, was not so lucky.

"Uh…Squirtle, tackle it!" The tiny turtle rushed at Jungleon.

"Jungleon, razor whip!" The grass pokemon swung around and slashed Squirtle in the face with the leaf on its tail. "Now, leech seed!" Jungleon spit a seed out of its mouth. The seed instantly opened up into vines that wrapped around Squirtle and held it tight, sapping the energy from it.

"Ohhh…Squirtle, return!" Daryl called back his last pokemon.

Evan had won.

"AND THE WINNER IS EVAN EVOLVEON OF CENTEREACH TOWN!"

"Way to go, Eevee boy, that's the way to do it!" Ant cheered for his friend as he took his pokemon to be healed.

"NOW, HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, FOLKS? ONLY TWO MATCHES INTO THE TOURNAMENT AND ALREADY WE'VE SEEN SOME SPECTACULAR BATTLES AND TWO NEW POKEMON! LET'S KEEP THIS PARTY GOING. THE NEXT MATCH IS JOE O'DELL FROM JADE CITY VERSUS DAVID WHITLEY OF FUCHSIA CITY! YOU TWO COME ON DOWN!"

I got up and headed for the arena. I saw Joe going to his side of the arena. He was an elderly gentleman, proudly dressed in an Irish kilt and costume. The ref was waiting on the both of us.

"Call it in the air." He said to me, flipping a coin from the Celadon Game Corner Casino.

"Heads." I said.

"Tails, Whitley throws out the first pokemon. Let's go!" The whistle blew and the match was on.

I had no idea what this guy might have, so, when in doubt I choose my best. "Charizard, I choose you!" I said, releasing my starter pokemon.

"Chaaarrrr!" it roared, ready for battle.

"Ach, boyo, that' wus a mestake if oi've ever seen one. Shellder, soak this big flamin' braggart!" The old Irishman released his clam pokemon.

I recognized his amateurish strategy, but I remembered Ash's instructions on how to perform in the tournament.

"Shellder, give't a water gun!" The clam pokemon fired its water attack. It weakened Charizard, but my pokemon out leveled his Shellder. It was too strong to be fainted that easily.

"Charizard…" I said, thinking on how not to over do it. "Scratch it." Charizard was puzzled for a moment. I hadn't given it such a weak command since it had evolved into Charmeleon. Still, it obeyed and gently scratched the Shellder. Still, it was enough to faint the weak pokemon.

"Ach, Shellder, retuirn! So, ye want ta play rough now, do ye? Foine by me. Wartortle, hose 'im!" The turtle pokemon emerged from its pokeball. "Give it a hydro pump, Wartortle!" The water pokemon launched its powerful water attack. It was enough to put out a fire type.

"Charizard, return. Venusaur, I choose you!" I released my plant pokemon to face Joe's water type.

"Wartortle, skull bash now!" Wartortle lowered its head and charged at Venusaur.

"Venusaur, razor leaf!"

"Saur!" it growled as it sprayed hundreds of leaves. Wartortle ran headlong into the leaves, fainting instantly.

"Wartortle, retuirn. Aye, sur'n ye've got some foine pokemon there, lad, but let's see yuir plant pokemon top this! Go, Vulpix!" The little six tailed fire fox emerged from the pokeball. Again, this amateur was playing by type and paying no mind to the pokemons' levels. I could have easily defeated it, even with my plant type, but I was ordered to play it low.

"Venusaur, solarbeam!" Venusaur took time to soak up the sun's rays pouring through the skylights. This gave Joe the opportunity he needed.

"Vulpix, burn'im like 'e was las' years yule log!" Vulpix fired its flamethrower attack, which I must admit was much stronger than I had expected. It didn't faint Venusaur, but it was severely weakened.

"Venusaur, fire the solarbeam!" With the last of its strength my pokemon fired its ultimate grass attack, fainting Vulpix. Joe recalled his fainted pokemon, and I recalled my weakened Venusaur. I looked across at Joe and saw that he seemed to be getting a little nervous, even though he still had three pokemon left. "Perhaps he has some illegals he's afraid to have to use." I said to myself as we both chose our next pokemon.

"Go, Pikachu, fry this bloody wanker one good time, eh!" His pokeball opened, releasing the little electric rodent.

"Pika, pikachu!" it said, and if I didn't know better I'd swear it said it in an Irish accent.

I chose my next pokemon. "Blastoise, attack!" I said, releasing my massive turtle pokemon.

"Pikachu, thunder!" the old man barked immediately. His Pikachu fired its most powerful electric attack, which was actually strong enough to faint my Blastoise straight away.

"Blastoise, return. Go…" I hesitated for a moment, not sure if I should call Muddogg or not. Finally, I decided what the heck, there had already been two new pokemon here today, why not include my own? "Go, Muddogg!" My mud pokemon emerged, ready for battle. I could hear pokedexes all over the coliseum pinging as trainers tried to find out what my pokemon was.

"Mmmmud! Muddogg, mud!" it barked at Pikachu, who was looking a little weak after its last attack.

"OK, Muddogg, mudslinger!" Muddogg began hurling globs of mud at Pikachu. The quick pokemon was able to dodge them all.

"A'right, Pikachu, one more time, thunder!" Again, the little electric pokemon powered up and fired its electrical attack. However, it didn't faze Muddogg.

"Whut in'a bloody 'ell is this, then!" Joe said, unable to believe that Muddogg was unaffected by Pikachu's most powerful attack.

"OK, Muddogg, use bogdown!" Muddogg gathered itself up into a large ball of mud and hurled itself at Pikachu, burying and fainting it.

"Pikachu, retuirn blast ye!" Joe said, highly irritated, even though he still had two pokemon left. "Tha's it, I forfeit!" the old Irishman said as he turned and started toward the pokemon healing stations.

As the announcer declared me the winner I just knew this guy must have a couple of illegals he was too scared to use. Why else would he quit a match with two more pokemon left? I discreetly aimed the interface at Joe's pokeballs. "Dexter, can you tell me what he's got inside those pokeballs?"

**"Scanning. A Caterpie at level three and a Kakuna at level eight."**

I smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "No wonder he didn't want to continue." I said to myself as I went to heal my pokemon, quickly before the next match started.

Up on the rooftop some very bad people were planning some very bad things.

"Did you see that? That was that guy who beat us in the Unknown Dungeon!" Jessie said to her partner, a huge vain popping out on her forehead as she remembered their last defeat.

James, however, was much more calm. "Don't worry, Jessie. We'll get our revenge soon enough, but for now we have to stick to the plan."

Jessie moved away from the skylight. "(sigh) You're right, James. How are things going?"

James smiled wickedly, lightly sniffing at his rose. "Right on schedule. Cassidy and Butch are out rounding up every Rocket and Rocket wannabe in the tri-city area. Plus, the children have successfully infiltrated the tournament. When they give us the signal that all is ready inside, we attack."

Jessie laid back on the roof and smiled. "James, I love you when you're bad. Hahahahahahaha…" The two laughed on the rooftop, thinking about all the trouble they would be causing soon.

There was a malfunction with the machines at the pokemon center. Only one machine was working, and there was a long line for that one. Those who had battled were restoring their pokemon and those who hadn't battled yet were making sure their pokemon were fighting fit before it was their turn.

I was in line behind a man in a long dark blue coat. At first I thought he was just another trainer, but then I took a second look at him. It was Robby "the Wrecker" Maximillion.

"Robby! How have you been, man?"

My gym leader friend turned around and smiled when he saw who it was. "David! Man, I'm doing great! How are you? It's been awhile."

I nodded. "Yeah, I can't believe it's been almost a year now since I beat you for the Bio Badge. Are you still the gym leader in Bio City?"

Robby nodded, a smug grin on his face. "You know it, and still one of the toughest trainers in the League. They've even asked me to consider a place in the Elite Four when one of them retires, but I don't think I will."

"Why not?" I said in surprise. "You're more than good enough for it."

Robby's grin grew into a full smile. "I know, but those four are the best the League's ever had, especially Ash. I'll be dead and in my grave before that guy gives up training."

Some commotion at the front of the line drew our attention. Nurse Joy was trying to tell us all something over the griping of the people up front. "Attention, please! I'm afraid we won't be able to repair our other revitalization machines today, and we've only got one working at the moment. If you'd like you can leave your pokemon with us and we'll call you when they've been healed."

Some of the younger, more naive trainers readily agreed, but Robby and I knew better.

"Forget that." Robby said. "I've got hyper potions and elixirs with me in my pack. I'll restore them myself. I'm not leaving my babies alone, especially with Team Rocket on the loose again. Did you hear about that?" I nodded. "You think they'd attack Indigo Plateau itself?"

I looked around at all the pokemon, many of them rare and powerful ones, and in some cases new ones. I looked back at my friend and grinned. "Is their motto ridiculous?"

I bought some hyper potions, elixirs, and revives at the pokemart and got my pokemon back up to perfect health. I got back to my seat just in time to hear them call for the next match.

"THE NEXT BATTLE WILL BE LAUREN CHARLESTON OF MARIGOLD PLAINS VERSUS VANCE LEE OF CINNABAR ISLAND! LAUREN, VANCE, COME ON DOWN!"

I heard some loud boos against Vance coming from a group of trainers across the arena from me. It looked like Kyosan was with the booers. I pointed the interface at them to bring up who they were. Rachel L., Leo Katsumara, Kyosan Lee, and Fox Lee, Vance's very own little sister. She was booing loudest of the group.

"Wow." I said. "Talk about your sibling rivalries."

Vance lost the coin toss, so he threw out the first pokemon. "Nidorino, attack!" A large, powerful, and mean looking Nidorino emerged from the pokeball.

At the other end of the arena I could see Lauren looking very nervous. Still, she chose her pokemon well. "Slowpoke, go get'em!" she said nervously, releasing her slow water pokemon. "Water gun!" she ordered.

"Nidorino, tackle that worthless lump!" Vance barked. Nidorino charged at Slowpoke.

Finally, the slow pokemon fired its water attack. Nidorino ran through the water like it wasn't there. Slowpoke was sent flying over Lauren's head and out of the ring.

"Nidorino, return!" Vance ordered, calling back his pokemon, a very confident move. Perhaps over confident.

Lauren quickly recalled her injured Slowpoke and chose her next pokemon. "Ekans, go!" she said nervously.

I heard Vance let out a sharp 'HA' before he chose his next pokemon. "Graveller, attack!" he said, releasing his rock pokemon.

"Quick, Ekans, wrap!" Lauren said, seeking to get the upper hand this time.

"E-kansss!" her snake pokemon hissed as it wrapped around Graveller and squeezed as hard as it could. It had no effect.

"Graveller, crush that little worm!" Vance ordered. Graveller tucked under its arms and legs and began rolling around on the floor, crushing Ekans repeatedly until the poor pokemon fell off, fainted.

"No, Ekans return." Lauren said.

Vance began yelling at his Graveller. "How dare you let such a weak pokemon even get near you, you worthless pebble! Extra training for you tonight, now get back in this pokeball!" he yelled, returning Graveller to its pokeball.

Lauren chose her next pokemon sadly, afraid it was going to get hurt like the others did. "Magneton, it's your turn." Lauren said, releasing the electric steel ball pokemon.

"This is too easy!" Vance shouted. "Onix, smash that hunk of scrap metal!" he said, releasing the huge rock snake. "Take down now!" The giant rock pokemon lunged at the little electric one.

Lauren stood frozen, not sure what to do. "Uh, Magneton…uh…Explosion!" she finally shouted. Just as Onix was about to flatten it, the three little orbs let out a powerful explosion, fainting itself in the process. However, when the dust and smoke cleared, Onix stood there, apparently unharmed by the blast. Everyone in the arena was amazed.

"Well, that was rather pointless, wasn't it? Onix, return!" Vance said cockily as he made a show of recalling his healthy pokemon once again.

"Magneton…return." Lauren said. She looked at the three pokemon she had left. She didn't look like she really wanted to send any of them into battle.

"Oh, come on!" Vance shouted at her from across the arena. "Don't quit, at least lose with a little dignity, for God's sake!"

The look of sorrow on Lauren's face slowly blossomed into rage. "You think you're so good, don't you?" the young trainer shouted in a cracked voice. "Well, let's see you handle this!" Suddenly, she threw out all three of her remaining pokeballs, in obvious violation of the rules, but she must have figured she was going to lose anyway and just didn't want to give Vance the satisfaction of beating her.

The three pokeballs opened, releasing a Charmander, a Nidorina, and an Alakazam. The ref called for the bell, then a surprising thing happened…

Vance chose his next pokemon.

"Don't think you're getting off that easy, little girl! Arcanine, sic'em!" His pokeball opened, releasing the fiercest looking Arcanine I've ever seen. "Take them out, Arcanine! Every flipping one of them!" The Arcanine leapt into the three on one battle, snarling and snapping at them all.

"Fight back, guys!" Lauren called to her pokemon, tears running down her face. "Don't let that bully push you around!" Charmander fired its flamethrower and Nidorina launched its horn attack. Alakazam used its psybeam.

Amazingly, Arcanine was able to dodge all three of the attacks. It quickly fainted Charmander with a single swipe of its massive paw. It then tackled Nidorina, sending her crashing into the guard wall. Finally, it flamethrowered Alakazam into unconsciousness. The entire arena was speechless.

Vance called back his Arcanine. "Try again when you learn how to train pokemon, loser." He said as he walked away.

"THE WINNER, BY DISQUALIFICATION," the announcer put extra emphasis on why Vance was being announced the winner, "VANCE LEE."

Before he left the arena, Vance walked over and faced Fox and her group. He pointed right at her, then strutted back to his seat.

Lauren sadly recalled her pokemon and walked to the pokemon center, her head slumped down in defeat.

"Y'know," I said to myself, "I really hate that guy."

Way up in the nosebleed section of the arena, two crafty little minds were hard at work.

"Wow, did you see that, Larissa? That guy is good!"

"No, Ross." Larissa corrected her partner. "That guy is bad."

Ross smiled. "Yeah, just what we've been looking for."

All in attendance were still shocked at what they had seen as the tournament broke for lunch. I left the arena and made a beeline for the nearest Chik-Fil-A. I sat at an empty table and was about to sink my teeth into a piping hot chicken tender when the interface began beeping. I opened it. "Yes?"

"David," Ash's voice came over the line. "We need to see you in the boardroom immediately."

I sighed and looked at my food. "Can't it wait?" I asked, praying for a yes.

"That's not what immediately means, is it now, Mr. Whitley?" Gary's voice cut in.

"Fine, I'm on my way." I said, closing the interface. I shoved three of the six tenders in my mouth and put the rest in the bag with the waffle fries, picked up my drink, and hurried upstairs to the boardroom.

"I can't believe he would do something like that!" Fox Lee exclaimed. "That worthless, arrogant, egotistical, son of a-"

"Rattatta!" her pokemon shouted in anger.

Fox's opinion piece regarding her brother was cut short by Leo. "Fox, look, we all know what Vance is. I feel just as sorry for that girl as anybody, but there's nothing we can do about it now."

Kyosan nodded in agreement. "He's right, Fox. What we need to focus on now is the goal ahead of us."

Fox cut her green eyes at Kyosan. "Don't patronize me, Kyosan. I know what my goal is: to drop kick Vance's jerk ass all the way back to Cinnabar!"

Bill Nguyen came over holding a massive foot long sub and sat down with Fox and the group. "Man, did you guys see that guy Vance? Now, there's a trainer who knows how to lay the smack down! If I wasn't gonna win this thing I'd put sure money on him!"

Fox gave Bill a look that could burn a hole through a masterball, then she got up and stormed off, her Rattatta riding on her shoulder.

"What? What'd I say?" Bill said, his mouth full of teriyaki chicken.

Leo and Kyosan got up and followed after Fox. Rachel stood up. "Boy, do you know just how to say the wrong thing at the wrong time." She said, taking off after the others.

Bill watched them leave. "He could definitely beat those four." He said, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"The revitalization machines were what?"

Gary nodded solemnly. "Sabotaged. Someone wanted all those pokemon in one place. We've postponed the rest of today's matches and set up extra security around the pokemon center."

Slate whirled around in his swivel chair. "Now, what group of losers do we know that would want a lot of pokemon, especially rare and powerful ones, gathered in one place?"

"Rockets." We all said at once.

"Bingo." Slate said, tossing one of his own pokeballs up and down over his head.

"Alright," I said, beginning to pace back and forth. "Apparently the Rockets do plan to attack, and this sabotage is a pretty good sign that they are already here…"

"Or have someone working for them on the inside." Gary said.

"Vance Lee?" I said.

Ash nodded. "We don't have any proof of a Team Rocket connection. He comes from a well off family of very powerful trainers from Cinnabar Island."

"Varrick and Leyana Lee, yes I've heard of them." I said. "Both of them pokemon masters, both of them former Pokemon League Champions. If Vance wanted money he could go to his folks, and if he wanted rare or powerful pokemon he'd probably rather go out and catch them himself than steal them."

"Well, I don't know if it's Vance," Slate said, "but whoever it was it would have to be someone with mad technical skills. Whoever hacked the revs knew their way around that type of machinery."

"Still, he's our prime suspect." Misty said. "Heck, he's our only suspect, especially since his match with that poor girl."

"Well, I'll keep an eye on him." I said.

"See that you do." Gary said. "He's had a history of…violent behavior."

I nodded solemnly, my hand unconsciously moving to my belt of pokeballs. "I can handle it." I said, walking out of the office.

Since the rest of the day's matches had been postponed until the pokemon center could get their "technical difficulties" worked out, the League had set up a sort of trainer's bazaar. Local trainers and breeders had set up booths and demonstrations to sell their respective wares and to share their knowledge of pokemon. Without a doubt the most popular of these attractions was the Stone Acres Breeding exhibit, run by Brock Stone himself. A huge group of people gathered around for the pokemon show. He showcased some of his prize winning thorough breds, including his world famous Vulpix.

When the show was over the crowd dispersed and Brock went to have a seat and rest a bit. Then he noticed someone from across the room coming towards him. She was about his age, but she still possessed the tomboyishness of her youth. She rolled up the sleeves of her oversized sweater as she got closer to Brock. For a moment they just stared at each other.

"Hello, Heather." Brock said. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Heather nodded and smiled a small smile of remembrance. "It's been a very long time, Brock." She said. "Ever since I had to go back to my gym. How have you been?"

Brock nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. "I've done pretty well for myself." He said, indicating his breeder business. "I have a wonderful wife and five lovely children."

Heather smiled. "And every one of them following in your footsteps."

Brock smiled widely, the pride he had for his two sons; Flint Jr., the Pewter City Gym leader, and Slate of the Elite Four. Then his smile faded. "I wish I could have done it all with you." He said, taking the hand of his old flame.

Heather put her hand over his. "No you don't, Brock, and the truth is neither do I. You're happy with you life, and I'm happy with mine. Let's not waste our time together wishing things could have been different. Let's just enjoy the way things are now."

Brock nodded, knowing deep down that he felt the same way.

"So!" Heather said happily, trying to lighten the somber mood. "How are the other little Stones doing, huh?"

"Team Rocket to Team Shuttle, come in Shuttles!" James said into the radio.

"THIS IS TEAM SHUTTLE. GO AHEAD TEAM ROCKET." A young girl's voice said over the radio.

"How goes the plan?" James asked.

"RIGHT ON SCHEDULE. THE POKEMON CENTER IS CLOSED DOWN FOR THE NIGHT TO MAKE REPAIRS AND ALL THE POKEBALLS LEFT THERE ARE UNDER HEAVY GUARD."

"Excellent, keep me posted. Team Rocket out." James said, closing the radio with a smirk.

Jessie smacked James in the back of the head. "James, do you mind explaining to me how increased security is good for the plan?"

James smiled and put his arms around his wife and partner. "Because, my dear, now we have them standing on their toes. It will make it that much easier to push them down."

The two villains smiled an evil smile that the normally beautiful rays of the setting sun somehow only made more sinister.


	3. Chapter 3

**Day 3**

"WELCOME BACK, FOLKS. WE HAD SOME TROUBLE AT THE POKEMON CENTER YESTERDAY, BUT TODAY EVERYTHING IS RUNNING 110! LET'S GET ON WITH THE FIRST ROUND ACTION! WOULD DAN SERGEIN OF EMERALD CITY AND ADAM VAN MADA OF CELADON CITY PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY DOWN TO THE FIGHTING ARENA!"

The crowd cheered loudly as the next two competitors came down to the arena. I sat there in my seat; an Onix sized Big Gulp in one hand, the interface in the other, and a small buffet of food and snacks in my lap. Now that I had won my first round match I could sit back and enjoy the rest of the tournament searching for illegals. Still, the idea of Rockets lurking around did tend to dampen the mood a bit.

Dan won the coin toss, so Adam had to choose first. "I choose Nidoran!" he said, releasing a Nidoran male.

Dan smiled. "All right, Venusaur, let's take this guy!" he said to his Venusaur that stood by his side.

"Saur!" the large plant pokemon said as it lumbered into the arena.

"Nidoran, tackle it!" Adam shouted. The little pink pokemon charged at Venusaur. It slammed into the plant pokemon's leg and dropped like a stone right in front of it.

"Venusaur, vine whip!" Venusaur extended its vines and smacked Nidoran all the way back to its trainer.

"Come on, Nidoran, you can do it! Poison sting!" Nidoran shook its head clear and fired its poisonous pins. They hit their target, but had little effect on the part poison type pokemon.

Dan sighed. "Venusaur, sleep powder, put that poor thing to sleep before it hurts itself." Venusaur launched its sleep powder at Nidoran, which passed out asleep.

"Nidoran, return!" Adam said. "I choose Ponyta!"

Dan and Venusaur got a little nervous as the fire horse pokemon emerged from its ball. "Venusaur, razor leaf!" Dan ordered. Hundreds of tiny razor sharp leaves came flying at Ponyta.

"Ponyta, fire blast!" Adam ordered. Ponyta fired its attack, burning all the leaves to cinders. "Now, fire blast Venusaur!" Adam yelled. Ponyta launched its attack once more, badly burning the slow moving plant pokemon.

"Venusaur, return!" Dan said. Venusaur tried to get up and walk back to its trainer's side, but it toppled over, too badly burned. Dan nodded, taking Venusaur's empty pokeball off of his belt. "C'mon, boy, into the pokeball." Venusaur nodded as the red light drew it back into the safety and comfort of its pokeball.

Adam was petting Ponyta's flaming mane as he waited for Dan to choose his next pokemon. Dan took a pokeball off of his belt, threw it in the air, caught it, and spun it on the tip of his finger like a basketball. The crowd ooohed and aahhhed at this talent, some even laughed.

"I choose Alakazam!" Dan said, throwing his pokeball into the arena.

"Ponyta, fire spin!" Adam ordered as soon as Alakazam was out of the ball. The flame tornado encircled Alakazam.

"Alakazam, confusion!" Dan ordered. Alakazam's eyes glowed blue as its powerful psychic abilities gathered the flames into a giant fireball and hurled it back at Ponyta. Still, it wasn't very effective against the fire pokemon.

"Alright, Ponyta, stomp it!" Adam ordered. The fire horse reared up and neighed loudly, then it charged at Alakazam, ready to pound it into the ground with its diamond hard hooves.

Dan and Alakazam stood firm. "Now, psychic!" Dan ordered.

"Kazam!" the powerful psychic pokemon said, as its most powerful attack sent the charging Ponyta crashing to the ground.

"Ponyta, return!" Adam said. "Alright, here's one that will have an advantage over your psychic pokemon! I choose Haunter!" The ghost pokemon emerged from the pokeball. "Haunter, lick that thing into paralysis!" Adam ordered. Haunter floated over menacingly towards Alakazam.

"Alakazam, psybeam." Alakazam fired its psychic ray, fainting the ghost pokemon instantly.

Adam's jaw dropped as he recalled his pokemon, a look of confusion on his face. Poor kid, looks like he's another rookie who bought into that rumor that ghosts are strong against psychics. Wish I knew how that rumor got started in the first place.

"I choose Primeape!" Adam said, releasing his little fuzzball of fury.

Dan recalled Alakazam. Either he wanted to take it easy on the poor kid, or he was afraid Primeape could get the advantage if it managed to get close enough. He chose his next pokemon. "Go, Gengar!" Dan said, releasing his own ghost pokemon.

"Primeape, fury swipes!" Adam ordered, but Primeape's powerful fists passed harmlessly through the gaseous pokemon.

"Gengar, hypnosis!" Gengar's powerful hypnosis power put Primeape right to sleep.

"C'mon, Primeape, get up!" Adam yelled to his snoozing pokemon, but all it did was roll over and scratch its tummy.

"Alright, Gengar, finish it with Dream Eater!"

"Gengar, gengar, gengar." The ghost pokemon laughed as it floated over and swallowed Primeape, passing him back out through his gaseous back. It was Primeape's dream of winning the P-1 Grand Prix that was eaten. This powerful attack fainted the sleeping pokemon.

"Primeape, return!" Adam said. "I choose Clefable."

The little pink pokemon emerged. "Clef-a-ble." It said happily.

"Gengar, hypnosis!"

"Clefable, metronome!" Adam said. Clefable wagged its finger back and forth, summoning a new pokemon attack.

"Clefable!" it yelled as a large bolt of lightening shot out of its finger and electrocuted Gengar. Metronome had given Clefable thunder.

"Gengar, return!" Dan said, recalling his pokemon and choosing his next. "Go, Majesticorn!" he said, releasing the unicorn pokemon.

Pokedexes all over the arena pinged as trainers tried to find out what this pokemon was. I had heard of this pokemon, but never seen one in person. It was a white unicorn with a flowing blonde mane and tail. Around its neck it wore a beautiful necklace of multi-colored beads. I pointed my interface at it anyway, just to hear what it had to say.

**"Majesticorn. A mystic pokemon. From the far off plains of Emerald City, this unicorn pokemon uses powerful attacks of an unknown origin that can only be described as magical."**

It was legit, so I watched the battle unfold.

"Clefable, metronome again!" Adam called.

"Majesticorn, double team!" Dan ordered. The mystic pokemon created a duplicate of itself and the two surrounded Clefable.

It used metronome, but was unable to decide which one of the two pokemon to attack. Finally, it launched its new attack, flamethrower, at one of the two Majesticorn. The flames passed harmlessly through the fake image.

"No!" Adam said.

"Now, Majesticorn, orb bomb!" The beads of the necklace began to glow and gleam. Suddenly the gems separated and began floating around in front of Majesticorn. The orbs glowed even brighter as they floated around faster and faster. "Majesticorn, fire!" Dan said. Suddenly, the beads stopped in mid air and each one fired a powerful blast at Clefable, fainting it.

"Clefable, return." Adam said, his chances for victory now resting on his one last pokemon. "I choose Chansey." Adam said, releasing the egg pokemon. "Double-edge attack!"

"Chansey!" it said as it threw itself headlong into Majesticorn. The attack weakened Majesticorn, but it also hurt Chansey.

Dan looked at the watch-like device on his arm. It was a health reader, showing the condition of his entire team. It showed that Majesticorn still had plenty of energy left. "Majesticorn, mega kick!" The magical horse charged and kicked Chansey with its powerful legs, knocking it for a loop.

"Chansey…return." Adam said, accepting defeat.

Dan sighed his relief and smiled at the mystic pokemon. "Good job, Majesticorn. Return."

"AND DAN SERGEIN IS THE WINNER! LET'S HEAR IT FOR HIM, FOLKS!" The crowd cheered for this trainer from so far away. He gave the crowd a quick wave of thanks, then was off to the pokemon center to heal his pokemon.

"Your pokemon will be ready in just a moment, Mr. Sergein." Nurse Joy said as she took the pokeballs to be healed. As Dan waited the phone on the nurse's desk rang. "Mr. Sergein, phone for you."

Dan grinned and took the phone from Joy. "Hello, Jennifer." He said knowingly into the phone.

"How's Majesticorn? Is it alright?" Jennifer asked, almost out of breath.

Dan chuckled. "Majesticorn is fine. It's being healed right now."

Jennifer sighed on the other end of the line. "That's a relief. We saw the battle on TV just now, congratulations!"

Dan's grin turned into a full on smile. "Thanks, babe. Now it's on to round two, and from what I've seen already I'm going to have some tough competition."

"You'll do just fine." Jennifer said. "Heck, you might even win this thing."

Dan gasped, feigning exasperation. "Well gee, thanks for the vote of confidence!" he said sarcastically, but knowing what she meant.

Her light giggle came over the line. "Do you need me to send you some more good luck?" she asked.

Dan smiled, taking his healed pokemon back from Nurse Joy. "No, but I could use some more kisses."

"NOW FOR OUR NEXT MATCH OF THE DAY! WOULD RED CON OF PALLET TOWN AND BOBBY HAPSBURG OF PEWTER CITY PLEASE COME ON DOWN TO THE FIGHTING ARENA!"

Red nervously got up from his seat next to Aliessa and Jordan. "Man, am I nervous." Red said, his teeth almost chattering with nerves.

Aliessa patted her young friend on the back. "Relax, Red, you'll do fine. Now get out there and show them how a Poliwag trainer fights!"

Jordan shook Red's hand. "Good luck to you, Red."

Red pulled himself together and strode confidently down to the arena. His opponent, Bobby, won the coin toss, so Red had to throw out the first pokemon. "Uh…Red calls…Jigglypuff!" Red chucked his pokeball, releasing the cute little balloon pokemon.

Bobby laughed. "Alright, if that's the way you want to play it. Gloom, go!" Bobby chose his first pokemon, the sometimes stinky plant pokemon Gloom.

"Jigglypuff, sing to it!"

Immediately I and just about everyone else in the arena covered our ears, so the song of Jigglypuff wouldn't put us to sleep as well.

"Jiiiig-aly-puuuffff, jigalyyyyyy-puuuuuffff." When the singing stopped Gloom (as well as some of the spectators) was woozy, but still standing.

"Way to go, Gloom, shake it off and use stun spore!" Gloom smacked itself in the face a few times to wake itself up, then released its attack. Jigglypuff fell to the ground, paralyzed.

"Oh no! Jigglypuff, double slap!" The balloon pokemon tried hard to attack, but it couldn't get up.

"Alright, Gloom, finish this powder puff, solarbeam!" Gloom took in sunlight from the clear blue sky outside the sunroof.

"Sing, Jigglypuff!" Red called out in desperation. "Sing your little heart out!"

Jigglypuff managed to sit up and it started singing for all it was worth. "Jiiiigalyyy-puuuffff, jiggalyyyyyy-puuuuffff!" Gloom began to wobble again.

"Gloom, no, fire the solarbeam, don't fall asleep!" But it was too late; Gloom fell over and started snoring. "Gloom, return!" Bobby said.

Red smiled a small smile of pride as he recalled his weakened Jigglypuff. He had tied a more experienced trainer. Now with more confidence he chose his next pokemon. "Red calls Oddish!" the young trainer called, releasing his own plant pokemon.

Bobby threw his pokeball. "Exeggcute, cut it down to size!" The two plant pokemon faced off against each other. "Exeggcute, hypnosis!"

"Oddish, close your eyes and tackle it!" As the five faced plant pokemon unleashed its hypnosis power, Oddish took a deep breath, closed its eyes, and ran full tilt at Exeggcute, knocking it for a loop. "Now, bind it!" Oddish reached out and wrapped its leaves around its enemy and squeezed tight.

"Exeggcute, barrage!" Bobby said, but it couldn't do it. One more tight squeeze, and Exeggcute fell from Oddish's leaves, fainted. "Exeggcute, return! Psyduck, you better not let me down again!" Bobby said, recalling the fainted pokemon and releasing everyone's favorite fat yellow duck.

"Psy, duck." The pokemon said, holding its head.

"Don't just stand there, Psyduck, attack Oddish!"

Psyduck turned to its opponent. "Psy ay ay!" it said as it waddled over to Oddish.

"That's it, Psyduck!" Bobby yelled excitedly. "Now, scratch it!" Psyduck took a pathetic little swing with its claws. It knocked Oddish over, but the plant pokemon jumped right back up.

"Oddish?" the plant pokemon said, confused by its opponent's weakness.

Psyduck got an angry look in its dopey eyes. "Psy? Psy ay ay duck!" it said angrily as it started slapping and slashing at Oddish repeatedly. These weak attacks did little more than annoy the plant pokemon.

"Oddish," Red ordered, "wrap up that little pest!" Oddish quickly wrapped its leaves around the fat little duck and threw it back at Bobby.

"Oh, why do I even bother with you? Psyduck, return!" The fat little duck was gratefully taken back into its pokeball. Bobby chose his next pokemon. "Go, Gengar!" The ghost pokemon emerged from its pokeball.

"Oddish!" the little plant pokemon said, quivering with fear.

"Gengar, nightshade attack!" Bobby ordered. Gengar released its powerful attack, quickly fainting the weakened little pokemon.

"Hang in there, Red!" Aliessa shouted to her friend.

"You can still win this!" Jordan chimed in.

"Vap, por, poreon!" Aliessa's Vaporeon said.

Red chose his next pokemon. "Red calls Charmander!" Red released his starter pokemon, the fire lizard Charmander. "Charmander, ember attack!"

"Char, chaaaaarrr!" the little fire pokemon said as it waved its flaming tail at Gengar, sending flames and sparks showering onto its opponent.

Back in Pallet Town, Mr. And Mrs. Con were watching the match intently.

"Well," Red's mother snorted, "at least he finally got some sense and decided to use his fire pokemon!"

Her husband nodded. "Indeed. If he ad used Charmander from the start he probably could have had this match won by now! I keep trying to tell him: fire is the best type of pokemon!"

"One more time, Charmander, ember attack!" Again the fire lizard burned Gengar with its flaming tail, this time fainting the ghost pokemon.

"Gengar, return!" Bobby said. "Go, Poliwag!" The pokeball opened, releasing the little tad pole pokemon.

Red gasped at seeing his favorite pokemon facing off against him. "Charmander, scratch attack!" The fire lizard moved in to scratch Poliwag, but Bobby was too quick for it.

"Poliwag, water gun!" The little water pokemon fired its water attack, instantly fainting the fire type.

"Charmander, return!" Red called, eagerly taking his next pokeball off his belt. "Red calls Poliwag!" Red said, releasing his best and favorite pokemon.

"Poliwag, water gun attack!" Bobby called.

"Match it with your own water gun, Poliwag!" Red almost cheered. The two water pokemon fired their water attacks at each other. The water streams clashed into each other, sending spray on all sides. Red's Poliwag began to win out as its water gun began slowly pushing back against Bobby's. Finally, Bobby's Poliwag gave out, and the gush of water sent it crashing back into the guard walls.

"Poliwag, return!" Bobby said, choosing his last pokemon. "Go, Sandslash!" he yelled, releasing his powerful ground type pokemon.

Every bit of Red's earlier jitters was gone now as he ordered the final attack with complete confidence. "Poliwag, water gun!" he called out quickly, before Sandslash had time to burrow under the floor. The ground type was instantly fainted.

A cheer went up from the crowd for the victorious underdog, Red Con. "LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE WINNER, FOLKS!" the announcer called. Aliessa, Jordan, and Vaporeon were all jumping up and down, shouting out congratulations to their young friend.

Somewhere in the stands Bill Nguyen sat cheering for the winner and munching on a sub. One of the spectators next to him, an old gambler, leaned over to him.

"What are you so happy about, sonny? You picked the other kid to win. Now that I think about it, you haven't picked a single winner this whole tournament! I'm beginning to think you don't know a thing about pokemon."

Bill cut his eyes at the old man. "Repeat that, you old rudey poo."

The gambler smiled a mischievous grin. "I said you don't know a thing about pokemon. You actually picked a ground type to win over a water type. Boy, you're just plain ignorant."

Bill turned and looked the gambler straight in the eyes. "Care to bet on the next match, chump? One hundred dollars cash to the winner."

The old man stuck out his hand. "Deal, sonny. You better hope whoever you pick is either a good trainer, or very lucky! Hehehe."

The announcer called for the next match. "WOULD BILL NGUYEN OF SAFFRON CITY AND CORY MACNAMARA OF LAVENDER TOWN PLEASE COME DOWN TO THE FIGHTING ARENA!"

The old man looked at Bill, a toothless grin lining his wrinkled face. "So, who do you have, sonny?" the old man asked.

Bill shoved the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and stood up. "Oh, I'd have to go with Bill. He's very good _and _very lucky. Excuse me." Bill said, making his way toward the end of the aisle.

"Wait a minute, sonny." The old man said. "Where are you going? Don't you even think about backing out now!"

Bill got to the stairs and turned around. "Oh, I'm not, I just have to get down to the floor, they called my name."

The old man's jaw dropped. "You mean you're…?"

Bill nodded. "Bill Nguyen, and don't _you_ try to welch on me, old man!" Bill laughed as he bounded down the stairs toward the arena floor.

The old man slumped down and slapped his wrinkled forehead. "Mildred's gonna kill me!"

"Nguyen wins the coin toss, MacNamara chooses first. Let's go!" the ref blew the whistle and the match was on.

Cory chose his first pokemon. "Go, Paras!" The little plant bug pokemon emerged from the pokeball.

Bill laughed. "Is that all? Oh well, Arcanine, get'im!" The fire wolf pokemon emerged from the pokeball.

"Paras, slash attack!" The little plant pokemon scuttled over and began slashing at Arcanine's ankle.

"Arcanine, flamethrower!" Bill ordered. The fire pokemon launched its attack, instantly fainting the weaker pokemon.

"Paras, return!"

"Arcanine, return!" Bill also recalled his perfectly healthy pokemon, a very brave or very foolish move in a single elimination tournament. He must have felt sure he was going to win.

"Go, Mankey!" Cory called out his pig monkey pokemon.

Bill chose his next pokemon. "Snorlax, squash that little jabroni like a pancake!" Bill's massive Snorlax emerged from the incredibly tiny pokeball.

"Uhh…Mankey, mega punch!" Mankey leapt at Snorlax, ready to deliver a mega punch right between the sleeping monster's closed eyes.

"Snorlax, headbutt!" Bill called out. Just as Mankey was about to connect, Snorlax thrust its head forward and clobbered Mankey. "Now, flatten it!" Bill said. The large pokemon proceeded to fall over on the stunned pokemon.

"Aaahhh, Mankey return!" Cory quickly called back his pokemon just before Snorlax crashed to the floor, shaking the whole building to its girders. Cory chose his next pokemon. "Go, Cubone!" The lonely bone pokemon materialized right on top of the sleeping pokemon. "Now, boneclub it!" Cory ordered.

"Cu-bone!" the little armored pokemon said as it repeatedly bashed Snorlax over its massive head. Whether or not this bothered Snorlax I couldn't tell.

"Snorlax, return. Venusaur, slice him!" Bill said, swapping out his pokemon.

"Cubone, bonemerang!" Cory ordered. Cubone threw its weapon at Venusaur.

"Venusaur, vine whip it away and use razor leaf!" Venusaur's vines shot outward, knocking the little bone away like it was a mere twig. Hundreds of razor leaves followed, cutting Cubone badly.

"Cubone, return!" Cory called back his pokemon. "Go, Kadabra!" The psychic pokemon emerged from the pokeball.

"Kadabra." It chanted.

"Venusaur, tackle it!" The large plant pokemon charged surprisingly fast at the psychic pokemon.

It wasn't fast enough. "Kadabra, psychic attack!" The psychic pokemon released its powerful attack, fainting the part poison pokemon instantly.

"Venusaur, return!" Bill recalled his pokemon. "Go, Gyarados!" Bill released his fearsome sea monster pokemon. "Hyperbeam attack!" The mighty sea serpent charged up and fired its most powerful attack, blasting the psychic pokemon to the ground.

"Return, Kadabra! Go, Digglett!" Cory released his tiny mole pokemon and quickly ordered it to dig a hole.

"Don't think it will get away from me that easily! Gyarados, hydro pump the ground!" Gyarados fired its powerful water attack at the floor, breaking right through it and flooding Digglett's tunnels. The ground type pokemon came floating up out of its hole, fainted. Cory and Bill both recalled their pokemon.

Cory chose his last pokemon. "Go, Machop!"

Bill chose his next pokemon. "Hitmonchan, mega punch that little guy back to its mama!" The punching fiend emerged from its pokeball, ready for battle.

"Machop, mega punch!" Cory ordered.

"Hitmonchan, mega punch!" Bill ordered.

The two fighting pokemon lunged at each other, but Hitmonchan had the longer reach, and sent Machop flying over the guard wall and into the crowd.

Bill had won it.

As Cory went into the stands to recall his Machop, Bill stood there, bowing and basking in the spotlight.

"AND BILL NGUYEN IS THE WINNER!"

The tournament broke for lunch, so I decided I was going to go for a short walk and think things out. Eventually I ended up on the roof over the stadium. I could look down through the large skylights and see maintenance crews quickly and skillfully repairing the damaged arena floor. I looked to the east at nearby Viridian City. Something was wrong, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. My thinking was just too foggy, so I decided I needed a fresh perspective.

I reached around behind my back and pulled the hidden Masterball off of my belt. I opened it, releasing the powerful psychic monster within.

"Mewtwo." It hissed as it materialized. It stretched its long arms, legs, and tail, grunting the whole time. "NEVER keep me confined in that blasted thing so long again!" it said, twisting its head from side to side.

"Sorry." I said, looking out over the horizon. "I've just been so busy with his tournament and watching out for Rockets that I…"

Mewtwo quickly interrupted me. "You've battled already? Why was I not called?"

If I didn't know better I'd have sworn it was disappointed that it hadn't battled. "The Elite Four have asked that I try to keep a low profile. Using you would surely be risking my secret." Mewtwo understood and began looking where I was looking. "I need to get back out there, Mewtwo. Back into the wild, hunting for new pokemon. After this tournament is over that is exactly what I'm going to do.

Suddenly, Mewtwo bolted up into the air, suspended there by its own psychic power. It quickly jerked its head around, like it was looking for something. Immediately I was on my feet, pokeball in hand, ready to take on whatever the danger was.

"What is it, Mewtwo? Rockets?"

My psychic pokemon continued to look around. "There is a strong presence here." It almost whispered, like it was listening for an unheard sound. "A powerful psychic aura surrounds this place."

I relaxed and put the pokeball away. "Mewtwo, calm down. There have to be a few dozen psychic pokemon here at this tournament, even some psychic trainers. That's all it is."

Mewtwo slowly floated back down to its feet. It looked at me, a deadly seriousness burning in its eyes. "No, David, this is something else, something very powerful. It is strange to me, yet…familiar." It said as it looked off into the sky, as if to find the answers written there.

Inside the building I heard the chime that meant it was almost time for the matches to start up again. "Come on, Mewtwo." I said, holding out the Masterball. "Time to get back to work." Mewtwo sighed and nodded as it was absorbed back into the Masterball. I turned and made my way back into the building, unaware that behind one of the statues on the roof, two villains were watching and listening to every word.

"WELCOME BACK LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! HOPE YOU ENJOYED LUNCH, CAUSE NOW IT'S TIME FOR MORE BATTLE! WOULD SHAWN RIDLE OF GRINGY CITY AND DIANE MCCLAINE OF CELADON CITY PLEASE COME DOWN TO THE FIGHTING ARENA!"

The two competitors went down to the floor, Shawn a hobo looking man with dirty, ratty clothes; and Diane a bright, happy girl with pink hair and a Pokemon Tech jacket on.

"Hmmm." I said, nibbling a waffle fry, "A graduate of the Tech, this ought to be a good one."

Diane lost the coin toss, so she threw out the first pokemon. "OK, Raichu, do your stuff!" she said, releasing the electric pokemon.

Shawn pulled a surprisingly clean and shiny pokeball out of his coat and threw it.

"Oddish!" his plant pokemon said as it faced its opponent.

"Oddish," Shawn said in a gravelly voice, "use stun spore!" The plant pokemon released a cloud of dust at Raichu.

"Raichu, use agility to dodge it, then follow up with thunderwave!" The electric mouse quickly ran around the dust cloud and fired its electrical attack at Oddish, paralyzing the plant. "Now, finish it off with thunderbolt!" Diane called out happily.

"Raaaiiiii-chuuuuu!" the electric pokemon released its attack, frying the plant pokemon.

"Oddish, return." Shawn said, choosing his next pokemon.

"Perrrrrrsian." The cat pokemon purred as it emerged from the pokeball.

"Persian, fury swipes!" Shawn called.

"Raichu, thunderbolt!" Raichu fired its electrical attack, but the quick cat pokemon was able to dodge the blast. It laid into Raichu, slashing and clawing furiously. "Raichu, return!" Diane said, quickly recalling her pokemon. "Cubone, go!"

"Cubone-bone. Cubone!" the armored pokemon said.

"Persian, again, use the fury swipes!"

"Cubone, bonemerang!" Diane said.

The cat pokemon was able to dodge the thrown weapon and lunged at Cubone.

"Cubone, skull bash!" Cubone lowered its armored head and charged at the lunging cat pokemon. It bashed Persian in the face, knocking it silly. Then, the bonemerang came flying back and bashed Persian in the back of the head, knocking it out.

Cubone picked up its weapon and waved it around. "Cubone, cu-BONE!" it shouted to the crowd.

"Persian, return." Shawn chose his next pokemon.

"Ivysaur!" the plant pokemon yelled as it came out of the pokeball.

Diane grew slightly nervous. "Alright, Cubone, remember your training and do your best. Bone club!" Cubone held up its weapon and charged at Ivysaur. Ivysaur stood firm, awaiting its instructions as Cubone drew closer and closer. Cubone leapt into the air at its opponent.

"Ivysaur, razor leaf!" Shawn called. Ivysaur launched its attack just in time. At such close range Cubone had no chance of dodging the attack, and every single razor leaf struck home, fainting the ground type pokemon instantly.

"Cubone, return!" Diane said. She quickly chose her next pokemon. "Charmeleon, go!" The fire lizard emerged from its pokeball.

"Quickly, Ivysaur, sleep powder!" The plant pokemon released a thick blue cloud of sleep powder.

"Charmeleon, blow it away with fire spin!" The fire pokemon released its flaming cyclone, burning away the sleep powder and singeing Ivysaur in the process.

"Ivysaur, vine whip!" Shawn called.

"Saur!" the plant pokemon barked as it wrapped its vines around Charmeleon and tried to slam it to the ground. Charmeleon held strong.

"Charmeleon, fire blast!" Diane called. The fire lizard dug in with its claws and launched its extreme fire attack, fainting the plant pokemon.

"Ivysaur, return." Shawn said, recalling his fainted pokemon and choosing his next.

"Seel, seel!" the water pokemon barked, clapping its flippers as it emerged from the pokeball.

"Quick, Charmeleon, fire spin!" Diane called out. Charmeleon surrounded Seel with a wall of flame.

"Seel, ice beam!" Seel tried to launch its ice attack, but it melted in the searing flames before it could harm Charmeleon. The powerful fire overwhelmed the lower level ice type, fainting it.

"Seel, return." Shawn said.

"Whirl, poliwhirl!" his water pokemon said as it materialized on the arena floor.

"Water gun!" Shawn ordered. The water fighter pokemon launched its attack, severely weakening Charmeleon. "Now, finish it with body slam!" Shawn said. However, the slimy bruiser slammed into nothing but solid floor as Diane recalled her weakened pokemon.

"Vileplume, go!" Diane called out her plant pokemon.

"Uh-oh. Poliwhirl, mega punch!" Shawn called. The fighting water pokemon charged at Vileplume.

"Vileplume, mega drain!" Diane called out. The plant pokemon quickly absorbed Poliwhirl's energy, sending the water type staggering. "Now, finish it with solarbeam!" Vileplume took in some of the last rays of the setting sun through the reddening skylight.

"Poliwhirl, do something!" Shawn called to his addled pokemon, too weak to respond.

Diane smiled cheerfully. "Vileplume, fire!" she called. The solarbeam blasted Poliwhirl back to its trainer, fainted.

"Return, Poliwhirl." Shawn said, shaking his head as he chose his last pokemon.

"Meeeowth!" the scratch-cat pokemon sneered as it emerged from the pokeball.

"Meowth, slash attack!" Shawn said. The cat lunged at Vileplume, its razor sharp claws slicing into the plant pokemon's huge petals, but not doing much damage.

"Vileplume, leech seed!" Diane called out. A seed popped out of the top of Vileplume's head and conked Meowth right between the eyes. The seed opened up, trapping Meowth in its power sapping vines.

"Meeeooooowth!" the cat pokemon said as it struggled to break free. Eventually, Meowth gave up.

"Meowth, return." Shawn said, beaten.

Diane ran over and hugged Vileplume, congratulating it on its victory.

"AND DIANE MCCLAINE IS THE WINNER! LET'S GIVE HER A HAND!"

Meanwhile, over in nearby Viridian City, a smoke bomb goes off in the doorway of the local pokemart. Customers ran panicking for the fire exit while the store manager searched for the fire extinguisher.

"Oh, there's no fire." A woman's voice said.

"But the situation is dire." A scratchy man's voice said.

"W-who's there? Who are you?" the old manager asked the two figures behind the smoke.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves!" both voices said in unison.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all people in every nation!"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"Cassidy!"

"Butch!"

"We're Team Rocket, circling the earth day and night!"

"Surrender to us now, or you'll surely lose the fight!"

"That's right!"

"Raticate!"

"Team Rocket! What do you no-good-nicks want here?" the old man asked. Raticate leapt up on the counter and snapped its massive fangs at the manager.

"Give us all the pokeballs you have, along with all the potions as well!" Cassidy said. The man quickly piled their order into a large box and handed it to Butch. "We'll be seeing you!" Cassidy said cheerfully as they walked out of the store.

The manager quickly grabbed the phone and called the police. "Hello, this is Jeffrey down at the Pokemart. Team Rocket just robbed me!"

I was on my way to my room at the end of the day's matches when I spotted Misty motioning for me to come over. I walked over casually, so as not to draw attention to the fact that I was speaking with one of the Elite Four.

"What's up?" I asked.

"We just got a report in from the Viridian City PD. Butch and Cassidy just robbed the pokemart."

I looked around again to make sure no one was listening. "What did they take?" I asked her quietly.

"The entire stock of pokeballs and potions." She said quickly.

I looked at her funny. "Was that all? I thought they would have taken everything."

Misty nodded. "So did we. There have been increasing reports of pokemon related disturbances all day, but up until now it was just kids in bad home made uniforms performing some petty misdemeanors. More annoying than dangerous. This is the first real criminal activity we've heard from the Rockets since the break out."

I nodded, rubbing my chin and lightly tapping my pokeballs. "They're sending us a message. They want us to know they're nearby, and they're recruiting. Any sign of the other two losers?"

Misty couldn't help but grin a little at that as she shook her head. "No. Jesse and James haven't been seen or heard from since they escaped."

I quickly covered my mouth as I failed to stifle a yawn, the excitement of the day's matches and pondering what the Rockets were up to had exhausted me.

Misty smiled and nodded. "I know how you feel. Get some sleep, we can talk about this some more tomorrow."

I thanked her and made my way to my room. I took off my belt and was about to lay it on the couch. Instead, I took the Masterball off the belt and released Mewtwo.

"What is it?" Mewtwo asked, looking around for danger.

"You don't need sleep, do you?" I asked it.

Mewtwo seemed taken aback by such a question, but it shook its head. "No. I require time to rest and replenish my power, but I do not need to sleep like you do. Why?"

I pulled up the Viridian City police records and handed the interface to Mewtwo. "I need you to study these police reports and criminal records. See if there is anything that might tell us what the Rockets might be up to or when they might attack."

Mewtwo took the interface and quickly scanned the info on the screen, then looked up at me in shock. "There are over five hundred pages of info here!" it said.

I patted it on the shoulder. "Good thing you don't need sleep, huh? Besides, you wanted out of your ball, right?"

Mewtwo sighed and shook its head. "Very well. I should be done by the time you wake up in the morning."

I nodded as I turned off the light. "Have a good night, Mewtwo."


End file.
